Yossi & Jagger director Eytan Fox returns with the gay-themed Walk on Water.
By Brandon Voss
Out Israeli director Eytan Fox follows the worldwide success of his gay soldier love story, Yossi & Jagger, with Walk on Water, a sobering yet hopeful tale of Eyal (handsome Israeli superstar Lior Ashkenazi), a straight Israeli assassin who befriends Axel, the gay German grandson of the elderly Nazi war criminal he’s been sent to eliminate. Along with rich, moving performances and gorgeous sceneries of Istanbul, the Dead Sea, the Sea of Galilee, and Jerusalem, the film also offers a glimpse of the gay climate in both Tel Aviv and Berlin. We chatted with Fox and Ashkenazi while they were in New York promoting the film.
HX: Is it important for you to make movies with a gay subject matter?
Eytan Fox: It is. Not so much because I have agendas, but because gay characters are a part of my life. These people have sensitivities and a cultural background that I know very closely on a very personal level.
Why does the character of Eyal initially have such a problem when he discovers that Axel is gay?
Lior Ashkenazi: Because there had been so much intimacy between them. He felt like he had been betrayed.
EF: In Israel, you grow up believing that there’s only one kind of man you can be. At 18, you have to go into the army, and you’re supposed to develop yourself into this tough, macho Israeli warrior. Part of that package deal is being straight, of course.
LA: When you’re in the army, there’s so much intimacy between men — you can hug your friends, sleep with them in the same bed and it’s okay. But, then again, if you know someone’s gay...
Do you have gay friends, Lior?
LA: In Tel Aviv, every second person is gay! My best friend is homosexual — Eytan Fox. When he wanted me for the lead role, we started going out drinking and became close. Nobody can understand the relationship between a gay man and a straight man. My straight friends asked me if he was trying to — how do you say it?
Hit on you?
LA: Yeah. And his gay friends were asking if I was coming out of the closet! We did the cover of TimeOut Tel Aviv, and it was based on the Annie Leibovitz photo of John Lennon and Yoko Ono. Eytan was laying on the bed, fully clothed, and I was hugging him, naked. So we made people talk. [Laughs.]
EF: He suggested it! Lior is the biggest film star in Israel — he’s the Israeli George Clooney. I can understand the scandal, but it was so moving for me. This straight role model coming out and saying, “I don’t give a shit. I feel comfortable with who I am. I love this man and I’m not afraid. What’s the problem?” That was difficult for some people. A lot of his friends and his agent were like, “What are you doing?”
American gay men will definitely see your skin-baring role in Walk on Water and view you as a sex symbol, Lior. How does that make you feel?
LA: I don’t know. What can I do with that? [Laughs] I’m just a nice looking guy. I don’t go to the gym, I hate sports. Everybody wants to look like Brad Pitt, but I’m getting old. I’m on a diet.
Eytan, what made you choose Lior for the role of Eyal?
EF: Well, it’s just because I fell in love with him. [Laughs] No, I think he’s a superb actor. He always plays these tough, macho soldiers and policemen. I thought it would be wonderful to use that as a starting point and dissect it to see if that’s all there is. Getting to the stage where he can cry in the arms of a gay man at the end of the film — that was important to me.
Do the two of you want to make movies in America?
LA: I have some auditions to go to while I’m here. I’m waiting for the right suggestion.
EF: It’s always a question. People all over the world are obsessed with what’s happening in America and in Hollywood, even if they’re very critical of it. But I’m pretty happy making films in Israel. I know Israel. I know the music, scenery, characters and the energies that they create. You should make a film about New York. Why should I? I could research and learn, but I don’t feel comfortable working that way. Think about Almodovar. Why would he want to make a film with Julia Roberts in English? Let him make his wonderful films and then bring them over to the states. That’s what’s important: Working hard to make your film and then making Americans want to go see it.
What message do you hope Americans take away from the film?
EF: That we’re more similar than we think we are. Once you open your eyes, hearts and souls to realize this, maybe you can make peace. Let’s do whatever we can to make people less afraid of each other. Change is possible.
HX, March 2005.